SNICKERS AND PUMPKIN

Peach Pecan Muffins

3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
2 TBSP canola oil
2 medium peaches, peeled, and diced
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Sift together almond meal, flours, salt and baking soda. Place into a electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. In a separate bowl whisk together egg, vanilla extract, brown sugar and oil. Pour egg mixture into the mixer bowl and mix on medium speed just until incorporated. Add sour cream/and or yogurt and mix just till blended. Take bowl off of mixer and fold in peaches and pecans.
Scoop(I use and ice cream scoop) muffin mix into tins, filling them ¾ of the way full. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of muffins if so desired.
Bake 400F for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.

Snickers Macarons:

For The Shells:
3 egg whites (I like to use 1-2 day old egg whites)
50 gr. granulated sugar
200 gr. powdered sugar (minus 2 Tb)
55gr. almonds
55 gr. peanuts
2 Tb cocoa powder
For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry and your macarons won't work. Combine the almonds, peanuts, cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Pass through a sieve. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 300F. Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Pipe or spoon some ganache on one shell and sandwich with another one.
If you use fresh whites, zap them up in the microwave on medium high for 20 seconds to mimic the aging process.
Milk Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup milk chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
In a heavy saucepan over medium high heat, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from the heat, drop in the milk chocolate and let stand a couple of minutes. Gently stir the chocolate into the cream until smooth. Set aside until it cools down and thickens a bit (a trip to the fridge is ok)
Marshmallow Cream:
2 cups marshmallows
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
In a heavy saucepan over medium low heat, melt the marshmallows and peanut butter until smooth. Let cool. Once cooled you will be able to pull the "nougat" and from the saucepan and cut pieces to flatten in the palm of your hands and sandwich with the rest of the ingredients.
Remaining Ingredients:
- caramel sauce or dulce de leche or my favorite : Salted Butter Caramel Sauce
- a few peanut halves
To assemble:
Fill the shells with a couple of teaspoons of ganache, add a teaspoon of caramel sauce, top with a peanut, a piece of marshmallow nougat, and the top shell.